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2012-10-02 - Valley of the Dolls
It'd taken longer than he wanted, but Kon had managed to get the some of the parents to donate some of the personal belongings to the cause of finding the children, and he's even talked with the police, there a small unit on standby to get the kids home, or, at the very least, to safety. He's picked the spot where he noticed the open manhole cover when the child was snatched near him, and is leaning over, letting Krypto the Superdog get a good sniff at the various sheets, toys, pajamas, whatever the parents might have donated. As soon as Krypto seems to have the scent, he passes the belongings back to a nearby cop and looks to the other members of the House of El. "Ready?" he asks. It takes a while, as even Krypto keeps losing the scents. It has been a while, and the sewer lines aren't exactly smell friendly. Far from happy, Krypto forces himself to do it for the greater good. Hey, the dog is intelligent thank you very much! In either case, as the team follows Krypto, they will notice a few chalk markings here and there with arrows pointing down different tunnels. Furthermore, once in a blue moon there will be a drawing of a little girl and ltitle boy, or hearts and bunnies. Not all of the drawings are the same style, as if some of the children led here may have had a chance to draw on the walls while being taken away. Birds, bears, houses and trees. There are all sorts of things, as they get close to their destination. The destination? They come up another ladder to remove a manhole cover. They have traveled from BAkerline to Park Ridge and Hobes Bay. The industrial area appears a little sad in places, other places are thriving with commerance. This is one of the not thriving blocks. Krypto leads them toward a run down warehouse building, and stops at a metal cover over a trap door. Superman follows along behind Conner and Krypto, not really saying much because his intense sense of smell would make his stomach heave from the smells within the sewer. Once they go topside, however, and he is led to the warehouse, he gives it a quick scan with his x-ray vision. "Be careful, there may be traps." He warns quietly. Kryptonians have superhuman senses, including smell. So even if it's not as pronounced as a Kryptonian DOG's sense of smell, it's still not pleasant scenes for them either. Including Supergirl. "I'm... thinking of holding my breath while down here. Seriously." She looks around as they follow Krypto, using x-ray vision and looking at various colors in the electromagnetic spectrum in case there are signs of non-normal technology down here. Something Krypto can't do since - color blind. Seeing the pictures on the wall of the sewer, she says, "Well we're on the right track ... right? Pretty sure sewer gaters aren't drawing this stuff." There is surprisingly a lot of lead in the sewer pipelines in Metropolis. We can blame it on Lex Luthor. When Superman x-rays below the warehouse however, he will find the use of lead as well. Whoever built this, knew about the Kryptonian weakness. "Maybe the Gotham ones," Kon jokes half-heartedly. Air bubble? Air bubble. It's good to be a meta. When they emerge, he looks around, and, seeing both of the others looking towards the warehouse, he decides to focus on hearing, blocking out all sounds not coming from inside the warehouse. Superman frowns faintly. "There is more lead here than there should be. Someone had us in mind when this place was constructed." He walks around the area a little, but stays in visible contact with the others. "We're going to have to do this the old fashioned way." He looks back at Kon and Kara. "Any suggestions?" Kara Zor-El nods. "Well it's Metropolis, and your best buddy Luthor brags enough that he built most of this city, right? Coincidence?" She shrugs. "I'd say we just start speeding around down until we find something .... it's not like it's infinite twists and turns. Kara Zor-El nods. "Well it's Metropolis, and your best buddy Luthor brags enough that he built most of this city, right? Coincidence?" She shrugs. "Guess maybe one of us goes in, in case it's a trap. That way if there's some trap, we don't all get caught in it and hte other two can break the third out." She walks over to the warehouse Kon considers for a moment. "Well, unless we want to rack up some property damage and risk hurting the kids, only really one way in." He places a hand on the door and closes his eyes, concentrating as he checks for traps, anything on the door that wouldn't normally be there. The other hand is held up, signaling Kara to stop. If all's clear, he nods. "We go in, get the kids. They're the first priority, once they're safe, then we can worry about the rest." As Kon goes to pull the trap door up, he will realize it is locked down. There is a squealing sound as the metal bends and the lock finally breaks. Even then, the door his heavy to list, normal humans wouldn't be able to lift it easily. There is a flashing light inside, a red one as if a silent alarm was tripped. As the Super Family decend down the stairs into the sub-level, they will discover many things at once. The technology here is state-of-art. Furthermore, it all looks to be engineering and medical equipment. The lights are dim, and it is quiet. There is a work desk with a scattering of paperwork. Is it important? There is a set of sprial stares that lead down to another level below. As Krypto soon flies down, sniffing, he lets out a bark and soon speed races toward the stairs. The hidden cameras record the activity. Those with hearing, can hear the voice of children playing downstairs, and one crying softly. Superman had been trying to allow Kon and Kara to develop more, to let them take on responsibility. Which is why it was probably weird for them to hear what he says next. "When we go in, I'll search and get the kids. You two deal with rest, once I get the kids to safety, I'll come back and assist you." Once they get inside, he frowns at the flashing light and then his ears pick up the sound of children. "That's my cue, you two be careful." He speeds off behind Krypto in the direction of the noise. The technology here is state-of-art. Furthermore, it all looks to be engineering and medical equipment. The lights are dim, and it is quiet. There is a work desk with a scattering of paperwork. Is it important? Kara Zor-El heads over to the desk to look through the paperwork for any sort of clue maybe, then around at the medical equipment to see if there are any fingerprints or heat signatures that they've been recently used. Following someone else's lead, at least when working with a group, is second nature to Kon by this point, so when Superman explains his plan, he gives a nod, and watches the last sons (Krypto's a boy, it counts) of Krypton rush off. He joins Kara by the machines, the girl probably able to hear his heart rate kicking up. "Check for signs of blood, I don't have your eyes." Superman will find a living area on the sub-level. There is an open area for the most part, just some metal walls with open doorways - but for the force field stretching across one area of the room. In general, the living quarters are simple. On the side closest to the stairs is a sewing area with shelves that hold boxes of frabic and other such supplies. There is also a desk across the way from the sewing area that appears to be a stationary computer, and has a few computer games resting atop the desk as well as books about engineering and scentific articles on cybernetics. The force field then starts, and there is a couch and a television, an open area for play, and behind that the metal walls reveal three bedrooms, all simple...but for one having stuffed animals in. The children are watching teleivision and bickering some, and two of them playing supervillain and superhero...and a little girl sniffering while a boy tries to comfort her as she misses her mommy. There are five children in total, and there does not appear to be a single hair harmed on their heads. Of course, when one catches the sight of Krypto and Superman, he freezes, and a bark from Krypto has he wags his tail happily at seeing them safe, causes all the children to turn, stare, and jaw drop. Meanwhile, upstairs... The desk has a number of cybernetic designs and notes on them, but there is more. The closer she looks, she finds a strip of little photos that you get from one of those standalone photo stalls, of a serious looking Gothic boy getting his cheek pressed in, by a smiling Gothic girl...the twins that Kara saw in the park that day. There is also something more...sketches of plans and a blueprint of Arkham Aslym. Kara Zor-El peers at the medical equipment. "No blood but..." She looks through the paperwork. "Looks like pretty advanced cybernetic work was being done here. Reminds me of a few people. Sort of like Toyman's work. But not as refined." She then looks at the picture of the boy and girl. "Hey... I've seen these two. In New York. They're like cyborgs or something." She picks up the photo and shows it to Kon, then looks at the blueprints. "Annnd I think they're planning to break someone out of Arkham." Meanwhile, Krypto and Superman stand in front of a doorway that is covered with a force field. Superman tries out his heat vision on the field itself to see if he could cut through. If that doesn't work, then he'll try to find the power source that the field is working off of. "Don't worry kids, I'm going to have you home to your parents in no time." He looks down at Krypto. "I'm going to take a look around. Stay here and make sure nothing happens to the kids." And then he goes to look to see if he could find a way to lower the shield. Kon practically snatches the picture from Kara's hand, staring. "I know the boy... he--crap. I talked to him the night Robby went missing. He left, then I heard his Mom screaming. I didn't even think they could be connected..." he shakes his head, disappointed in himself. He looks back to Kara, then to the plans, then to the rest of the warehouse. "I'm not seeing them, you don't think they're trying to break them out /now/ do you?" He sets the picture down and darts off towards where Krypto and Superman disappeared to. "Need any help?" he offers. The children squeal at the heat vision, the girl cries more. The boy pats her shoulders, "Don't worry, he's just trying to get us out." The other children seem to have mixed feelings. General feelings? They want to go home, but one of them whispers that he hopes big sister doesn't get in trouble. The power source is actually nearby, near the computer desk. There is a control panel in the wall that actually has cords leading to the contract base of the force field. It is a basic force field, meant to repell the weaker attacks - such as a heat vision meant to not risk the children. But with Superman's strength, he could likely push his way through the force field, but couldn't do so with the children...he just needs to figure out how to well...turn it off. Superman is going through his options when Kon arrives. He nods to him. "Yeah. The children seem to be unharmed, but there is a forcefield covering them. I can break through it, but I couldn't get back out again with the children in tow. The control panel is there.." He points it out. "Once I shut this thing off, I'll need help to get them out. There are more here than i thought there would be." He curses himself for not seeing it sooner. He should have been more forceful with the Goth girl than he was. Too late for it now. He examines the control panel with x-ray vision, trying to see if there was a fail safe if he were to zap it with his heat vision. Kon are both upstairs, Kara by the machines and such, Kon by the entrance to the basement." There does not appear to be a failsafe. It was crudely, but effectively designed and built. Heat vision would override the circuits and shut it off, no problem. Kara Zor-El asks, "Did you ask the kids who brought them here?" Kara Zor-El asks Superman when he comes back, "Where's the forcefield controls... and did the children tell you who brought them here?" She shows Superman the photos of the goth twins. "Like these two maybe?" Kon looks over to Kara, then back down the hole. "I'll go ask, see if I can help Superman with the kids. You take care of the equipment, see if the twins are around." He slips down into the basement then, looking at the children behind the forcefield. "Which of you is Robby?" he asks the children, leaving the more experienced hero to deal with the force field. The boy that was comforting the girl steps forward, "I..I'm Robby." He looks about ten years old, and a little shy around Kon. He looks at the big S on the teens chest a lot. Realizing the panel was zap_ok, he fires his heat vision and shorts out the force field. Superman steps into the room and announces. "Now, let's get you guys out of here. Can someone tell me the names of the two that brought you here, and where they might be right now?" Since he had only two hands, he'd need some help to get them out and to safety. He even has the crying little girl to get on Krypo's back so he can carry her. He calls up to Kara, knowing her senses will allow her to hear him. When Kon arrives, Superman looks a little relieved. "We need some extra hands. There are more children here than I thought. Have Kara come down and give us a hand. They come first, we can always come back here after getting them out to invesitage further." He was distracted earlier and did not hear the conversation about them trying to break someone out of Arkham. Kara Zor-El looks around, then flies down to where Kal and Kon are with the kids, taking the blueprints with her. "Kal, I think we might need to go to Arkham Asylum after we get the kids out of here, it looks like there's some sort of breakout being planned." She shows him the blueprints. "I'm thinking maybe Toyman or Dollmaker or someone made those two and they're trying to break him out." She pauses. "Or maybe he experimented on them and they want to break in to get revenge." "Nice to meet you, Robby, I'm Superboy; your mom's very worried about you," Kon says gently to the boy, and looks at the children. "We're going to get you all home, okay?" The relief to find the children intact and unharmed could not be clearer on his face. Blue eyes scan the room, doing a quick head count. He looks to Krypto for a moment, and then to the crying girl, stepping over. "You like dogs?" he soothes, kneeling by her. His tone changes, but only slightly, as he looks back to the others. "If we can let the police know where to find us, we won't have to lead them as far." The fizzle of the force field, causes the children to wince and jump, and only by hugging Krypto to girly death, does the little girl stop her soft sobs. The other girl and three boys seem to be holding up much better. Robby looks a little uncomfortable. "Ah, well." A seven year old boy that is holding a train set - he was pretending to be Super Train, the superhero earlier - says, "Big sister and big brother." Robby looks at the crying girl, and swallows hard. "I'm sorry," he says very quietly, that it likely takes Kryptonian hearing to actually hear him! He looks about to cry now. "I...was just playing. They...they didn't hurt us. We got...we got a little scared when we couldn't come home, but big sister just wants a big family. I think...she's lonely." He is really, really trying not to cry now. "I miss mommy too, I bet she's lonely." Peter holds his train closer to his chest. "Go home now? I tell daddy about trains, I know trains a lot now!" The other two children are pretty quiet, watching and waiting. They look a little nervous, but they are also a little older, twelve and fourteen by appearances. Kara Zor-El looks at the children. "We're going to get you back to your mommies and daddies right now. Did any of you hear what the boy or girl said about where they were going?" Superman turns to Kara. He takes a look at the blueprint that she holds and frowns deeply. "I think you're right, Kara." He calls out. "Superboy, we move faster than to police. Grab a kid and lets go. We've got to get over to Arkham as soon as possible. I think those twins are making their move as we speak!" He grins as he grabs a couple kids and tucks them under his arms. "You guys hold on tight. You're going to get to fly with Superman." And then he's gone to drop them off with the police. Hopefully, the other two Kryptonians are doing the same. Kara Zor-El picks up a few of the children as well and takes off after Superman to bring them to the police as well. Kon nods to the kids. He loads himself down, letting the girl ride on Krypto's back, a hand, and some TTK, keeping her there, and doing the same for the children he's carrying out of there. The kids are a little socked, except for Peter who seems to squee happily whenever he gets flown! "Flying train!" Alright, so he's a little kid that is easily pleased and obsessed with trains. The police are just happy to have them back, and before they can ask where they were kept, the Super Family is already off to the next location...Gotham City, Arkham...the home of the criminally insane. As the Super Family fly with great intent, The Puppet Twins are hard at work. Currently, hiding just outside camera range with his laptop hooked up to the phone lines, somehow Kol is hacking into the security system or rather introducing a virus. Phyre is dancing around and humming softly in the tree line happily. "We are going to be a big family, right big brother?" She pauses to tilt her head slightly as Kol hrms quietly. "What it is?" "I wonder about that sister. Master was always ficale, and that young man..." "What young man brother?" Kol shakes his head, "Never mind," though he was thinking of Connor Kent. He finishes introducing the virus and starts to close up his laptop and put it away. "We should get moving to the next stage of the plan." Phyre giggles, "You make the most fun plans!" She mmmms, "You think we can get adults in the family too?" "Adults? How are you supposed to take an adult home with you sister?" Kol actually rolls his cybernetic eyes at the thought. "I don't know! Maybe if they were really nice, then we could have a dad right?" "Would that not be the role of our Master?" A frown from Phyre as she appears thoughtful, and suddenly a bit nervous. "I do not think he would make a very good dad." But then the twins are off, moving toward the fence as the security feeds start to go down in one section block at a time. Superman wasn't taking any chances. He could not let the Dolls succeed in their mission. Which is why his body was a literal blur as he scoured over every inch of the Arkham. In times like this, standard protocol would be to alert Batman, but he didn't really have the time. Bruce would simply have to get over this one. With all of his super senses coming to bear, he spots movement and swoops down to investigate, motioning for the others to follow him. And the slowest member of the family brings up the rear. He's hauling as fast as he can too, having hit the sound barrier in what might have very well been record time as he tears through the sky, following the others. Kara Zor-El flies down to where she sees the Dolls, landing lightly on the ground. "Guys.... you can't do what you're planning on doing..." She overheard part of what they were talking about. "Who um.... made you. Toyman? Dollmaker? They're not good people, and I don't know but you two don't strike me as being bad. Just um.... lonely." The Puppet Twins are already over the fencing with Kol throwing his sister over, and then taking a running start and flipping over it himself. He lands with a light thump, his laptop bag still over one shoulder. However, as Superman and Kara are the first ones to appear behind him, his eyes narrow, and he moves with inhuman speed for well...a human being, to take a protective stance in front of his sister. Phyre gasps as the sudden appearance, "This...isn't your city." And her glare toward Kara would full of dislike if her eyes expressed emotion...but only her face does. "And, you are rude!" "We are the Puppet Twins," Kol says in a carefully neutral tone. "Do not interfer with my sister's happiness. I have no wish to harm anyone." Neither of them are carrying weapons. Superman takes a step forwards, "Phyre. Listen to me. My name is Superman. I know all you want is to have a family..but this isn't the way to achieve that. The man you want to break out of here is not a good man. You said yourself that he wouldn't make a good father. He needs to stay where he is. The children that you guys took to alleviate your loneliness have been returned to their parents. Please..just come with us. We can help you find what it is you're looking for. Without all of the violence..without having to hurt people." Kara Zor-El rubs the bridge of her nose. "And trust me, we're being nicer than the person who's city this -is-." She sighs. "I heard what your sister was saying. Your 'maker' is not a good person. You know that. You don't have to break him out of there just because you're lonely and want a family. There are other ways to have family." Superboy actually strikes the ground, managing to not crater by some not-so-subtle physics cheat at the last moment. He listens to Kara speak without the weird doppler distortion, and looks to the twins. "You are looking at 2 of 3 blood relatives I have, and I'm not even sure the 3rd one counts. They're my family, but they're not the only ones. You chose your family, and your family choses you. You don't need someone to make you one." Phyre frowns slightly when her name is said, appearing weary then. She moves closer to Kol to cling to the back of his shirt. "How...do you know my name?" Her voice is very quiet sounding, and she looks depressed at losing the children. Kol stiffens when it is mentioned the children were returned, his mouth pressing into a thin line of displeasure. He doesn't like that thought either, and he shows hints of anger in his expression when he hears Phyre sounding upset. "We serve the Master." He reverts to words beaten into him by the Dollmaker. Phyre sniffers, "You took our Master away, and the other children so we were all alone," he accuses Kara. "You aren't very nice to make us so lonely." Nope, the two don't really seem to care for Kara at all...and it was nothing she personally did to them. She wasn't involved in Toymaker's last arrest, but she was in Dollmaker's. Her head whips toward Superboy however, and she shifts away from him to crowd Kol more. Poor Kol, he shifts slightly to regain his balance, as his sister is tugging on him so much. Creepy yes...threatening? The two really aren't, likely why the children weren't too frightening of them all considered. Kol's cybernetic eyes flick over toward Superboy, something about the young man catches his attention...is it his voice? But he cannot quite put his artificial fingertip on it. "So, three verse two? And I thought heroes fought fair. Ah, actually they can't, you are not even close to human, are you? Who made you?" Those made comments seem to really bug Kol the most, though he tries to hide it. In either case, the two twins have not tried to really move from their spot, and Kol appears thoughtful and wary, and Phyre's eyes are dancing about. She appears the least predictable of the two. "I...I want Clark," and she looks like she would be crying if she had the ability. "I was trying to choose my family, so I don't understand." Kol is very protective of his sister, he would do anything to protect her. He jumped on Kara's case when she was just staring at his sister like she was freaky and strange, and he stands protective in front of her now. Kara Zor-El thinks, then realizes these two must be referring to Dollmaker. "The Dollmaker was stealing kidnapping children from their parents. -He- was the one making people lonely." She looks at Kol, then at Kon, then back at Kol. "We really don't want to fight you - you won't win ... and besides, I said you arent bad people yet. Don't become the type of people who we would have to fight okay?" She walks over to Kol. "You want to protect your sister, right? What you're planning on doing? It'll put your sister in a lot of danger. You wouldnt want to do that, right?" Superman glances at Kon and Kara. Knowing they have his back, he does something that he would have never done before his reckoning with Kon and Kara. He kneels down, so that he could talk to the twins on their own level, placing himself open to attack in the process. "Phyre, I know your name because Clark Kent is a very good friend of mine. He's a reporter, and he's written tons of stories about me. Though all that, we became close friends. He told me about you because he was worried about you after he met you on that dark street that night." Who but Clark would know details like that? "My family and I aren't here to take you away from anyone. We're here to make sure that you don't make a mistake. I don't believe that you serve The Master. I believe that you're scared and very lonely right now and that more than anything you want someone to love you and care for you. Why don't you come with us, and we can talk about all that. You guys can trust me..and if you want, I can have my good buddy Clark come see you as soon as he can." Kon-El meets Kol's eyes, an intensity there. "CADMUS labs made me. I'm was genetically engineered." He nods to Kara. "You've done some bad things, taking the children away from their homes, but they're back, they're safe. There's still time to end this, to turn around. You break him out, you actually hurt the children, and we won't be able to help you anymore. You'll end up locked up like the man you're trying to break out." He looks to the twins, and his expression softens somewhat. "And they don't put boys and girls in the same prisons." He looks to the girl, then. "And some of the kids really seemed to like you," he says to her. "But that's not how you do it. You can't just take people from their family and make them part of your own. Family isn't something you make, it's something that happens." He looks over to Clark then, knowing he understands. Phyre bites her lower lip, looking half afraid and confused. But Superman seems to be putting a dent in her armor. Though Kol puts an arm out in front of her as if to seperate them, "And take us where? To be taken apart like robots at S.T.A.R. Labs? Locked up?" Kol's words come out sounding cool, as he does not trust Supergirl or Superman, but he falls silent at Kon's words. His fake eyes flickering over to glance at him. "I can't be seperated from my sister," he states firmly. The two are very still suddenly, as if they are sharing something, but no one else can see or hear what it is. Family is not what is important to Kol, not even in the end Dollmaker...it is always his sister...Dollmaker is just like an addiction, it is all he knows. Phyre buries her face against Kol's back. "I...want to see Clark. He's...very kind. I believe him." Kol still does not appear fully convinced, but Phyre does not want to go to jail, and she's scared that she will lose her brother, and Clark won't like her anymore. Kol on the other hand, is weighing his options. Phyre peeks up at Superman, "Will you take me to Clark? He /promised/ he would help me if I need it," her lower lip trembling. Kol is far from happy, not seeming to like the fact his sister is depending on someone else, and he still looks suspiciously at Supergirl. Still...it is Kon he finally lands eyes on...the one that argued logically without a threat. "How can I make it happen for my sister?" Superman looks Phyre in the eyes. "Listen. If you and your brother can promise us that you will not attempt to break Dollmaker out, and promise that you will not kidnap any more kids, we can work something out here. All of us, we know how twisted things can get sometimes." Especially when you're riding high on Red K. "I give you my word that Clark will come see you. I can take you both to him at the Daily Planet. You can stay with him until you figure out what you want to do from here. Because as Superboy says, if you go to jail, they will split you up, and we don't want that. We know what it's like to have limited family. How does that sound?" Kon nods to Superman's word. "All you have to do is turn around," he reinforces. "We can get this all worked out." Lois is sure to love that! But Phyre seems to perk up at that, "I get to stay with Clark? Will I get to meet his wife?" Poor Lois. She then shakes her head, "I don't want to go to jail!" Kol moves to calm his sister then, hugging an arm about her. "We will not go to jail," he says firmly, comforting her. So unusually close. Kol though says, "I do not know about staying with this Clark fellow. Was our home stripped?" He thinks the police would have taken it apart...it was still their 'home'. He does not realize yet, that only the Super Family was there. But then Kol tilts his head in a quirky manner. There is no further time to make a decision, he has postponed enough. His sister seems to sense that, and Phyre moves to reach up to cup both his cheeks within her artificial hands. "Please trust them brother." Kol looks from his sister's inhuman eyes over to Kon. He finally slowly nods. And by them, poor Supergirl is perhaps not trusted nearly as much, but the girl does not send nearly hateful glances over at her anymore at least, that's an improvement! "Run, before the cameras come back on." Then as a unit, the two being to move back toward the fencin, and as the leap, they twist their bodies in time with each other and arch their backs right over the fence. Their bodies flip and they land on their feet, facing the fencing as one. "The trees' edge," the young man says as he turns with their sister and the head toward it. There, they will finally agree to leave with the Super Family...and they likely do not agree to take the stolen car back...the kids be fine with the flight back anyway. Article: DP: 2012-10-08 - The Road Home